M A I N   N E W S

Maoists attack train in Bihar, kill 3, loot arms

Patna/Jamui, June 13
Over 150 armed Maoists today carried out a daring attack on a Patna-bound train, killing three persons, including an RPF jawan, and injuring five others in Bihar's Naxal-affected Jamui district before looting passengers and fleeing with weapons.

Police and railway officials said RPF jawan Sukhnath D Singh and a passenger were killed in the attack while Kumar Amit, a Patna-based Bihar police Sub-Inspector, was found dead in an AC coach when the Dhanbad-Patna Inter-City Express reached Keul at Lakhisarai, ECR Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) Amitabh Prabhakar and Lakhisarai DSP Vijay Prasad said.

Five persons, identified as K P Singh (train guard), Manoj Kumar Singh (railway employee at Jamalpur), Dharmendra Sah (Lakhisarai), P K Tripathi (Patna) and Satish Kumar (Muzaffarpur) suffered injuries. They were given treatment at Keul station. Manoj Kumar Singh’s condition was stated to be serious.

Around 150 Maoists forcibly stopped the train near Kunder Halt between Jamui and Mananpur railway stations, about 170 km from Patna, at 1.20 pm and fired indiscriminately for about half an hour on the train and its passengers, said Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Law and Order, S K Bharadwaj.

The Maoists also looted weapons from two RPF personnel and later let the train go towards its onward journey, he said. Two companies of the CRPF have rushed to the spot to carry out a combing-cum-search operation to nab the Maoists who retreated into the forest after carrying out the daring attack. — PTI

Indiscriminate firing

• Maoists forcibly stop the train between Jamui and Mananpur railway stations, 170 km from Patna
• They fire indiscriminately for about half an hour on the train and passengers
• The rebels loot weapons from two RPF personnel before fleeing
• Then they let the train proceed towards its destination